T*Witches: Building a Mystery Read Online Free Page A
Author: Randi Reisfeld, H.B. Gilmour
like they belonged in a jellybean jar than a soda pop Six Pack, Alex remembered thinking.
She'd had a monster headache by the time they left PITS. And so had Cam, they discovered, when they compared notes on the way home.
By the time they'd reached Cam's house, the worst of Alex's pain had let up. Only to be replaced by a bigger headache: Dylan.
Cam's cutie-pie brother had decided to have his long blond locks chopped—and streaked blue—like Alex's. Which had put Cam's mother Emily into orbit.
Emily had glared daggers at Alex all through dinner.
"Come on, let's review," Cam said now, as they turned onto the school's wide central walkway. She pointed discreetly. "They're all over there."
Alex groaned, but complied. "Okay, so the curvy, cocoa-skinned blond in the granny glasses is Sukari. Black-haired, slightly edgy, that's Kristen. Kristen Hsu, right? And the pale redhead in hippie-dippy retro wear is Amanda. Beth is Beth. And... whoa! That's gotta be Bree. She looks exactly like her voice—all tight and screechy!"
There was something about the short, skinny girl—from the blond streaks in her expertly highlighted hair to the oh-so-cool perfection of her platform slides—that hit Alex like nails on a blackboard. Lucinda and Evan had an expression for the type. "T-cubed." Too. Totally. Trendy.
Brianna was waiting for them, Kristen at her side, at the arched front entrance to the school. "Wait. Don't tell me," the petite girl drawled, extending a tennis-bracelet-bedecked arm. "You must be Alexandra." She peered over her sunglasses and looked Alex up and down like a pint-sized inspector grading meat. "You look exactly like—"
"Cam?" Beth prompted facetiously.
"Excuse me?" Brianna raised an eyebrow at Cam's tall, frizzy-haired best. "Did I call for a ventriloquist? I move my mouth, and you do the talking? I don't think so."
"Dag," Sukari laughed. "She dissed your butt, Beth."
"I was going to say," Bree finished, pointedly ignoring Sukari, "that you look exactly like Kristen described you."
"Oh, really? And how's that?" Cam asked, flashing a warning glare at Brianna.
"Indescribably weird!" Bree answered, offering her palm to Kristen for a high five.
Cam glanced quickly at Alex. No words, spoken or unspoken, were necessary for her to read her twin's intentions. Alex's gray eyes had flicked to the freshly hosed bottom of the archway, specifically to the shallow puddle of water coating the marble slab on which Bree stood. No , Cam thought. Oh, Alex, don't!
I'm cool, her grinning twin silently assured her. And actually, Alex's eyes were cool, furiously frosty, as she watched Bree skid suddenly on a glass-smooth slick of ice that had somehow formed beneath her feet.
Bree teetered and twirled, reaching out for balance.
Kristen ducked, trying to get out of her way, but Bree's flailing hand caught her and sent her crashing back against one of the great oak doors thrown open to welcome Marble Bay High students. Kristen slid to the ground, the door at her back, her long legs splayed before her.
Stop it! Cam silently scolded Alex.
Oh, all right, her twin groused. A nanosecond later, Bree flopped down, hitting the ice-coated marble with a resounding thwack .
Cam and Beth helped her to her feet, while Amanda and Sukari, both giggling, hoisted Kris.
"Nothing bruised but my pride," Brianna assured everyone, dusting off her skirt. She glanced at Alex, studied her suspiciously for a second, then shrugged and announced, "However, a lawsuit against the school is not out of the question."
Ten minutes later, they were all inside by the tenth-grade lockers. While Cam and company caught up with school friends, Alex fiddled with the lock Emily had given her. She was trying to remember the combination; she had the first two turns down, but wasn't sure of the third.
A pleasant scent of soap and leather muddled her thinking. Before
She'd had a monster headache by the time they left PITS. And so had Cam, they discovered, when they compared notes on the way home.
By the time they'd reached Cam's house, the worst of Alex's pain had let up. Only to be replaced by a bigger headache: Dylan.
Cam's cutie-pie brother had decided to have his long blond locks chopped—and streaked blue—like Alex's. Which had put Cam's mother Emily into orbit.
Emily had glared daggers at Alex all through dinner.
"Come on, let's review," Cam said now, as they turned onto the school's wide central walkway. She pointed discreetly. "They're all over there."
Alex groaned, but complied. "Okay, so the curvy, cocoa-skinned blond in the granny glasses is Sukari. Black-haired, slightly edgy, that's Kristen. Kristen Hsu, right? And the pale redhead in hippie-dippy retro wear is Amanda. Beth is Beth. And... whoa! That's gotta be Bree. She looks exactly like her voice—all tight and screechy!"
There was something about the short, skinny girl—from the blond streaks in her expertly highlighted hair to the oh-so-cool perfection of her platform slides—that hit Alex like nails on a blackboard. Lucinda and Evan had an expression for the type. "T-cubed." Too. Totally. Trendy.
Brianna was waiting for them, Kristen at her side, at the arched front entrance to the school. "Wait. Don't tell me," the petite girl drawled, extending a tennis-bracelet-bedecked arm. "You must be Alexandra." She peered over her sunglasses and looked Alex up and down like a pint-sized inspector grading meat. "You look exactly like—"
"Cam?" Beth prompted facetiously.
"Excuse me?" Brianna raised an eyebrow at Cam's tall, frizzy-haired best. "Did I call for a ventriloquist? I move my mouth, and you do the talking? I don't think so."
"Dag," Sukari laughed. "She dissed your butt, Beth."
"I was going to say," Bree finished, pointedly ignoring Sukari, "that you look exactly like Kristen described you."
"Oh, really? And how's that?" Cam asked, flashing a warning glare at Brianna.
"Indescribably weird!" Bree answered, offering her palm to Kristen for a high five.
Cam glanced quickly at Alex. No words, spoken or unspoken, were necessary for her to read her twin's intentions. Alex's gray eyes had flicked to the freshly hosed bottom of the archway, specifically to the shallow puddle of water coating the marble slab on which Bree stood. No , Cam thought. Oh, Alex, don't!
I'm cool, her grinning twin silently assured her. And actually, Alex's eyes were cool, furiously frosty, as she watched Bree skid suddenly on a glass-smooth slick of ice that had somehow formed beneath her feet.
Bree teetered and twirled, reaching out for balance.
Kristen ducked, trying to get out of her way, but Bree's flailing hand caught her and sent her crashing back against one of the great oak doors thrown open to welcome Marble Bay High students. Kristen slid to the ground, the door at her back, her long legs splayed before her.
Stop it! Cam silently scolded Alex.
Oh, all right, her twin groused. A nanosecond later, Bree flopped down, hitting the ice-coated marble with a resounding thwack .
Cam and Beth helped her to her feet, while Amanda and Sukari, both giggling, hoisted Kris.
"Nothing bruised but my pride," Brianna assured everyone, dusting off her skirt. She glanced at Alex, studied her suspiciously for a second, then shrugged and announced, "However, a lawsuit against the school is not out of the question."
Ten minutes later, they were all inside by the tenth-grade lockers. While Cam and company caught up with school friends, Alex fiddled with the lock Emily had given her. She was trying to remember the combination; she had the first two turns down, but wasn't sure of the third.
A pleasant scent of soap and leather muddled her thinking. Before
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